Chapter 2
Chapter Two — The Memory She Lost
Amara couldn't move.
The rain continued falling around them, but she barely noticed it.
“You're saying I saved your life?” she asked quietly.
Daniel nodded.
“Three years ago. It was late at night. I had just left a party when my car crashed.”
Amara stared at him.
“I don't remember.”
“I know.”
Daniel reached into his jacket and pulled out an old, faded photograph.
“This was taken that night.”
Amara looked at the picture.
Her heart began beating faster.
There she was.
Standing beside a damaged car.
And beside her was a much younger-looking Daniel.
“You were unconscious,” Daniel continued. “Everyone else had driven past. But you stopped. You called an ambulance and stayed with me until they arrived.”
Amara's fingers trembled as she held the photograph.
“Why don't I remember any of this?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Because after the accident, you hit your head.”
She looked up sharply.
“You knew?”
“I tried to find you at the hospital. But you had already left.”
“Then how did you find me now?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I never stopped looking.”
Something about the way he said it made Amara's heart ache.
For three years, this man had carried a memory of her while she had completely forgotten him.
“Why me?” she whispered.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because when I was lying there, unable to breathe, you held my hand and told me everything was going to be okay.”
He smiled softly.
“I believed you.”
Amara looked away, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
“Daniel…”
“Yes?”
“I'm scared.”
He gently took her hand.
“You don't have to be.”
Their eyes met.
For the first time, Amara felt something she couldn't explain.
It wasn't fear.
It wasn't curiosity.
It was something much deeper.
Something that felt strangely familiar.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His smile disappeared.
“Who is it?” Amara asked.
Daniel didn't answer.
The phone rang again.
Finally, he picked up.
A man's cold voice came through the speaker.
“You found her.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“Yes.”
“Then you need to stay away from her.”
Daniel looked at Amara.
“It's too late.”
The caller laughed quietly.
“No, Daniel. It's not.”
The line went dead.
Amara stared at him.
“Who was that?”
Daniel slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Someone from my past.”
“What does he want?”
Daniel looked at her with a seriousness that frightened her.
“He wants you.”
Amara's heart stopped.
“Why?”
Daniel reached for her hand again.
“Because you're not the only person who remembers what happened three years ago.”
Outside, the rain became heavier.
And somewhere across the city, a mysterious man watched a photograph of Amara.
He smiled.
“She finally found him.”
Then he whispered:
“Now we begin.”
